I’ve only a few more boxes to unpack. phew.

xx

PS if you like, you can click on the image above to see a bigger version with captions.

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…it’s adorable. I found this pretty embroidered silk number in a little vintage boutique earlier this year, in a sweet seaside town outside of Sydney where my dear friend Jenni lives. We saw it together, both fell in love with it and spent the following moments passing it from one to another “no you have it”, “no you saw it first, you should have it” “no no, you have it”. Jenni insisted I take it, so I did. And now it lives with me here in Amsterdam. It’s a lovely summer bag, and even though I don’t get to use it much here in the north, I have it hanging on a hook in my bedroom where I can see it everyday and think of my dear friend.

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For the past few weeks I’ve been looking into the best way to scan some negatives which I brought back with me from Sydney at the beginning of the year – just a small bunch of old and somewhat recent film,  images that I’d like to include in my upcoming book (commonly referred to as the book). First I asked all my photographer friends here if they had a neg scanner  – I figured at least one of them would have one since they all used to shoot film back in the day. But alas, no! Which was interesting. Then I looked online to see if any of my local photography shops scanned negs, but I also checked out the prices of neg scanners while I was at it.  Long story short, after getting a hefty quote for scanning a few negs I thought it worth investing in a neg scanner of my own as I’d like to start shooting film again soon. Yesterday the neg scanner arrived in the mail and even though it took a while to set up, I soon got the hang of it by scanning a few random negatives from my neg folders.  What is no doubt much more interesting to you though, is what I found among those random negatives: a spoon.

This spoon is possibly my favourite spoon of all time. I haven’t seen it for years, and I’m not even sure if it still exists. I think – I hope -  it is in my storage unit back in Sydney. It has a history which probably dates back to before my ownership of it, but its history with me is special: I bought it about ten years ago , possibly at a flea market,  when I had my store. And then when I opened the teahouse I put it on display there, behind the counter, resting on a little nail in the wall. However one of the staff knocked it unfortunately, and it broke. But I loved it too much to get rid of it. So I bound the two broken pieces rather crudely with some metal wire (time was of the essence back then) and over the years it fused together with rust. I must have taken a photo of it at some point in the last decade with my canon ae-1 and now, all the way over here in my home away from home, I have been reunited with my spoon again via this photo. Today, thanks to this spoon, this photograph,  I am inspired.

xx

PS This is the original photo scanned straight from negative, untouched, unaltered. I just love it. I might have to find a place for this photo in the book I think.

PPS I still think about opening another teahouse one day. I know it’s crazy since the last one nearly killed me, but I do think I’d do it soooo much better this time and really, how many cafés out there know how to make a proper chai these days? I need to bring back the chai.

PPPS I want to say thank you to everyone who has been leaving such luscious compliments about my writing of late. I can’t tell you how much that means to me since the book is filled with such writings, and your encouragement inspires me everyday. So, thank you.

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xx

PS and happy weekend! I thought I might get a chance to squeeze one more post in before the weekend but alas, it will have to wait until Monday. Still so many things to share with you…

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Yesterday I said I would show you my first origami crane, and here it is! When I say my first I mean my first ‘pretty’ one, there are of course a table full of not so perfect ones. Now that I know how to make them, I’m a little addicted. It’s rather meditative, and I find it’s a really nice way to take a little moment in the day to unwind. It’s certainly a day enhancing activity, that is for sure.

I made my origami crane from this photo featured in Paris: Made By Hand, which I printed onto recycled paper…

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illustration courtesy of katie crackernuts.

You see, ms katie crackernuts is on a mission – a little while ago she joined The News Limited 1degree op shop challenge which means she wore thrifted and recycled fashion to work for two weeks. It was part of a workplace initiative to inspire people to cut their carbon footprint and kate became a finalist and is now in the top ten! Being the ambitious gal that she is, ms crackernuts is keen to win this competition, and I want her to win too. So, I’m joining in the fun by showing you one of my all-time favourite second hand finds which I came across while living in Paris…

I call it my peacock dress, and it cost me a whole 10 euro. It is 100% cotton, sans a designer label, and is the most gorgeous blue I’ve ever seen. I wear it with a simple fat belt and flip flops in summer. Just looking at it brightens my day.

I, like Kate, am rather obsessed with finding fabulous op shop garments and wherever I am in the world, I go into vintage boutiques I come across, or open markets in search of something special. I also love reworking a garment, rethinking how it can be worn and getting more life out of it. Its fun, inspiring, challenging, and good for the environment and for us.

So if you’d like to join in the fun and help kate with her op shop challenge, I invite you my dear fellow bloggers, to write a post this week about one of your favourite second hand finds, reveal some of your secret second hand sources in your local area, or offer a treasure hunting tip or two. Be sure to link back to katie crackernuts 1degree op shop challenge in your post.

Thank you for the inspiration kate!

xx

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As if this week wasn’t exciting enough!

Admittedly I was asked a month or so ago if I’d like to be ‘in the kitchen with’, it just took me this long to actually get the recipe and photos together! It’s been a busy month, and as its turned out, the post is lovely timing with the book release. The best thing is that while I was cooking this recipe two beautiful water creatures came to visit me so I grabbed my camera, grabbed the dish and snapped away…

Check out the full post and recipe for my pea, mint and feta risotto right here.

And if you do make this recipe please let me know what you think of it – I tend to add ingredients as I go, tasting along the way (I’m an artist and not a recipe writer! unlike my own (blog)house kitchen guest) so if you feel there is not enough of one thing or it needs more of something else, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Merci Grace and Kristina!

xx

PS I STILL can’t believe I actually got a photograph of the risotto with the swans in the background. wowsers.

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which one do you prefer? I couldn’t choose one, so I posted them all.

xx

PS It’s dusk and I’m enjoying a glass of vin blanc. Care to join me?

PPS what shall we listen to? actually I feel like playing this for you again. Please sit back, listen to the birds, sip your wine, and enjoy…

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Right now my dining table is a still life vignette bonanza. Why? because I’m working on something! which you will see soon enough. But above is a little snapshot of part of what’s going on – a jumble of ceramic letters (from one of the gorgeous ceramicists featured in my book), a pair of dinosaur designs servers, and figs which i found yesterday: a tray of 8 for just 2 euro!! heavenly. as you can see there are already 2 missing. That’s because French Boy and I ate them for dessert last night with some goats cheese and a drizzle of delicious honey.

In other news I am busy answering emails, getting lists of stockists together, and trying to get a blog photo package together for those of you who have asked – thank you so much for wanting to spread the word about my book! I’ll be in touch with you soon. But in the meantime, did you see my third dialogue piece on Design for Mankind yesterday? Its about the future of art and design, and as you can imagine, I’m pysched! My enthusiasm for our future as artists & bloggers is apparent in the video, check out what I have to say, along with faythe levine and craig atkinson (warning: craig seems to think that handmade has been and gone. no way man!!) right here.

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For me Spring is all about nesting – this is the time of year that I naturally dedicate my spare time to working on my home, and it seems I’m not the only one – the canal birds are at it again, working feverishly on their elaborate nest outside my kitchen window. While they are busy bringing leaves and all sorts of goodies into their nest, I’m pottering around the houseboat, planning, designing, and re-interpreting the space.

On the weekend I whipped up some fresh new cushion covers from a vintage blue striped piece of fabric I found at the markets a little while back (it was only 3 euro!). It was lots of fun, and I have plenty more to do. Ideas are circling around my mind, inspiration abounds, and I find myself obsessed with making this space just right for the coming months.

So for the next few weeks, the (blog)house will be dedicated to nesting. Yay I hear you say! I know, even though I work as an interior stylist I tend not to overload this space with interiors. So I know many of you will be thrilled that I have a truckload of interior-related posts up my sleeve, just for you!

So sit back, relax and enjoy the coming posts. I even have one on it’s way in a few hours…

xx

PS Do you like these photos? I had fun shooting them especially for this post.

PPS Thank you for all your comments and emails about my new blog design! I am so so glad you like it. I can’t wait to play around in all the rooms!

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